Locomotive-furnace.



C. B. MOORE.

I LGCOMOTWE FURNACE. APPLICATION FILED FEB. I4. I9I2.

Patented May 4, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

C. B. MOORE.

LGCOMOTIVE FURNACE.

'APPucATmN FILED rsa. 14.1912.

Patented u y 4, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

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Patented May d, il.

Application @led 'ebmy 14, 1913. Serial No. 677,56l.

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, CHARLES B. Moons, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Evanston, county of Cook, and State of illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Locomotive-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in locomotive boiler furnaces and has particular reference to a novel system for building and maintaining baffles or walls within the ireboXes of locomotives which baes or walls are commonly called arches.

The general objects of my invention is to provide a standard arch construction which can with equal facility be used for the building of arches in narrow, medium and wide ireboxes and which arches can be easily and quickly installed; which arches shall be of relatively light weight and low cost; which arches shall be easy to repair and parts of which can be readily removed to give free access to the side sheets and flue sheet of the iireboX for repairs thereto, and which arches shall be of a form that shall materially assist in the admiring and commingling of the rebox gases, and thereby enhance the combustion of the fuel.

Further objects, features and functions of my invention appear hereinafter.

My invention consists of a system of arch construction by means of which arches having the above characteristics can be produced. My invention further consists in a locomotive rebox arch comprising a plurality of similar arch bricks formed for mutual interlocking engagement and adapted to be supported either upon arch tubes or upon the side sheets of the iireboX, the arch corresponding in width with the width of the lirebox.

My invention further consists in an arch brick of such formand dimensions that it is'adapted to combine with a number .of bricks of substantially identical form, to produce archesin locomotive boiler reboxes having diderent dimensions.

My invention further consists in the various novel arrangements, features of construction and combinations of parts by which the objects hereinabove outlined are attained, together with others which will appear hereinafter, and al1 as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and as particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

lin said drawings, which form a part of this speciication, l have illustrated the application of my novel principle of arch building to the building of arches in locomotive boiler iireboXes of many diierent dimensions, and: Figure l is a central, longitudlnal section of a locomotive boiler iirebox having a front arch vtherein built in ac cordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the rebox on line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a vertical, transverse section of the i'irebox on line -Smf Fig. i; Fig. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of my novel arch brick; Fig. 5 is an enlarged transverse section on line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

llig. 6 is a section similar to lig. 5 showl ing a different arrangement oi' tubes. Fig. 7 is a ligure similar to Fig. 5 showing the application of my arch to a locomotive fireboX of the narrow type; Fig. 8 is a top plan view of the arch illustrated in Fig. 5; Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the arch illustrated in Fig. 6; Fig. l0 is a top plan Yiew of the arch illustrated in F 7.

My invention is capable of application to the building of arches in locomotive boiler lireboxes which occupy various positions and have dierent functions, and although li have contined the illustration to so-called front arches it should be understood that my invention is not thus limited.

Un account of the rapid deterioration to 'which locomotive lirebox arches are subject by reason of the high temperature of the, fire, the strong draft and the jarring eiiect of the locomotive when running on the road, it is necessary that they be so constructed that they can be easily and uickly repaired. Furthermore, it is desirable that the main body of the arch and a new brick or portion can be placed in position to complete the arch.

As shown in the drawings, a locomotive -v'h'eu Grand is opening 7 at its rear end and Hues 8 laid forward from the Hue sheet. The rebox lcontains the usual grate 9. The Hrebox illusftrated in-Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is provided with an inclined water circulating tube 10 which inclines upwardly and rearwardly from the lower portion of' the Hue sheet to the upper portion of the rear sheet and serves to 1ncrease the circulation of water between the front and rear water legs of the boiler.

A so-called front arch usually occupiesl an inclined Vposition in the iirebox extendlng from side sheety to side sheet therein and having its forward end in abutment with or arranged close to the Hue sheet. The functions of these arches are to serve as a bame to prevent the direct How of .the gases -of combustion from the fuel bed to the Hues and cause them to circulate back and forth through the Hiebox for the purpose of causing an even distribution of the heat to the whole interior of the irebox; further, to aid in the perfect combustion of the fuel by causing the various gases of combustion to be thoroughlyand completely intermixed as they rise through the firebox and incidentally to retain the gases in the iirebox a suiiicient time to completely oxidize all of the fuel particles. A further feature of these arches is to aid in maintaining complete combustion by giving 0H' some of their absorbed heat at the times when the temperature of the gases of combustion drops below the ignition point. All of these desirable features are retained in arches built in accordance with my novel method.

In carrying out my system I provide bricks A of substantially standard form which consist in substantially rectangular flat bricks having such dimensions that they will not be so heavy but that they can readily be placed in position in the irebox and. being limited in size by the'feature that they shall not be too large to be readily passed through the Hrebox door into the irebox. Each of these bricks is provided upon one longitudinal edge with a groove or socket B adapting it to Ht and rest upon the upper side of the arch or circulating tube 10. The opposite edge of the brick is provided with a half tongue C and a complementary half groove D whereby it is adapted to mutually interlock with a companion brick when the two bricks are relatively reversed in posil tin. One of the side faces'of the brick is provided with a relatively large shallow cavity or depressionv E which serves not only to lighten the brick without materially 're-I ducingits strength or its power to resist abrasion, `but serving also to provide the u arch with a plurality of subsidiary gas-mix# ing pockets and variousl angularl ositioned gas-deflecting Walle or baiiles.y p

In appl'ing my system to thebuilding of arches in re oxes,l I arrange-the'circulating tubes longitudinally within the lirebox in such a manner that. the transverse distance between the tubes themselves or between the tubesy and the side vsheets is practically of substantially standard width, so that a single brick 4will span two adjacent supports or be supported thereby, o r of lsuch a width that two ricks can rest upon two adjacent supports and span the space between them, the bricksbeing placed in oppositely inclined positions resting at their lower ends upon the supports and abutting at their upper ends, the bricks beingformed as ded scribed to mutually interlock at their abut- As the bricks of the arch are ting ends. supported in transversely inclined positions, itis obvious that the spaces between the supports can vary to some extent from standard dimensions without necessitating the use of more than one form of brick of standard size. In boilers wherein the space between the water-circulating tube and the adjacent side sheet is too great to be spanned by a single brick in an inclined position with its lower end resting upon the tube and its upper end leaning against the side sheet, I span the space, as shown in Fig. 2, with two of the standard bricks, one resting at its lower endl upon the water circulating tube and the other resting at its lower end upon lugs 11 suitably secured to the side sheet. In narrow boilers, as shown in Figs. 7 and 10, I provide a single water circulating or arch-supporting tube and support the arch thereon, the arch bricks' resting at their lower ends upon the tube and leaning against the side sheets of the Hrebo'x.

In installing archesin iireboxes, as illustrated in Fig. 2, in accordance with my method, I place one of the bricks upon the lower end of the arch tube adjacent the fluesheet inclining the brick outwardly and' supporting it in position by means of a second brick resting at its lower end upon the lugs or studs 11 and the ytwo bricks leaning against each other abutting substantially midway the tube and the side sheet and Amutually interlocked at their abutting ends. This lower portion ,of the arch iscompleted by two similar bricks placed transversely in line with the first two and supported by the circulating tube and the opposite side sheet. The abutting ends of these bricks rest 'fagainst the Hue sheet and their lower ends are spaced from the Hue sheet on account of the inclined position of the tube upon which the arch rests. For the purpose of securely l*retaining the arch in its proper position upon the arch tube, I place a spacing brick 12 upon thelower end of the tube between the first row .of bricks and the flue sheet.

This spacing brick is grooved to lit the cylindrical surface of thetube and is retained in position by the pressure of the arch. The arch is completed by the addition, if necessary, of further transverse rows of bricks .placed in position similar to the first row and extending from side sheet to side sheet. A front arch usually extends rearwardly from the flue sheet to about the center portion of the fireboX and from side sheet to side sheet. An arch thus positioned serves as a baffle to prevent the direct flow of the gases of combustion .from the fuel bed to the flues and causes them to flow rearwardly in the ireboX toward the rear sheet in order to escape around the upper end of the arch before they can flow forwardly to the flue sheet to escape through the Hues. rJlhe gases are thus retained in the iireboX a sufiicient time to cause substantially complete combustion to take place therein before they escape from the flrebox. Furthermore, as my arch is formed of what can be called transversely inclined leaves or panels, and as each of these panels is provided with a plurality of subsidiary pockets and walls arranged at various angles, it is seen that the gases strike the lower surface of the arch and different portions of the gaseous body are deflected at various angles and the gases of combustion are thoroughly intermingled and mixed.

The strong draft which is usually employed in locomotives tends to carry upward with the gases of combustion fuel particles and cinders which strike and flow upward along the under surface of the arch and tend to scour or wear the arch away, but this action does not materially affect the thin body portion of the bricks as these are protected from the scouring action on account of being raised above the lower surface of the arch, the mar inal edges of the arch and the subsidiary deecting walls formed thereby serving to deflect the fuel particles and cinders and cause them to return to the fuel bed without striking and wearing the thin portions of the bricks.

ln building arches in accordance with my invention, in wide ireboxes, the arrangement of the tubes may be varied to suit different conditions, and in Figs. '5 and 6 I have shown two different arrangements of tubes one having the single tube placed in the center of the iireboX, each transverse row of the bricks of the arch consisting of a pair lof bricks arranged at each side of the tube, each pair being mutually interlocked, and in Fig. 6 I have shown two tubes arranged parallel with each other and each row of the bricks in the arch comprising a central pair resting at their lower ends uponv the tubes and mutually interlocked at their upper ends, and a single brick arranged at each end thereof resting at its lower end upon the tube and leaning at its upper end against an adjacent side sheet. y

It will now be seen that I have provided a standard arch construction which is eX- ceedingly flexible in that arches can be built of bricks which fare substantially identical in form; that the arches can be made of sizes to fit substantially all widths of lireboXes and that the arches can be made of such sizes and dimensions that they will fulfil substantially any desired conditions. F urther, arches can be built of as low weight as is consistent with the proper strength of the bricks to withstand the shocks vto which they are subjected in use. Furthermore, asby my system many different sizes of arches can be built by the use of one standard size and form, of brick, it is seen that the installation and maintenance of such yarches upon a railroad system, can be accomplished at a minimum expense, for the reason that as but one number or size of brick is used it is not necessary to carry a great quantity in stock at various points where arches are built and repaired and consequently the capital outlay is relatively small.

As many modifications of my invention will readily suggest themselves to one skilled in the art l do not limit or conne my invention to the specific structures herein shown and described.

lf claim:

1. A locomotive boiler rebox, its inclined, water -circulating arch tubes and its side sheets, in combination with a refractory arch supported by said tubes and side sheets and composed of oppositely inclined interchangeable elongated bricks, each thereof having an arch-tube socket at its lower end, and an interchangeable interlock at its upper end.

2. A locomotive boiler iireboX in combination with a refractory arch therein and composed of oppositely inclined interchangeable elongated bricks, each thereof having an arch tube socket in its lower end, and an interchangeable interlock at its upper end.

3. A locomotive boiler rebox in combination with a refractory arch therein and composed of oppositely inclined interchangeable elongated bricks, each thereof having an arch tube socket in its lower end, an interchangeable interlock at its upper end, and cpntaining a gas mixing pocket in its under CHARLES B. MOORE.

Witnesses JOHN R. LEFEVRE, M. SIMON. 

